Siwa Oasis Egypt's Western DesertWith a
population of about 23,000, Siwa, the most inaccessible of all Egypt's
oasis until very recently, is also one of the most fascinating, lying
some 60 feed below sea level.. On the edge of the Great Sand Sea, its
rich history includes a visit from Alexander the Great to consult the
Oracle of Amun in 331 BC. Archaeologists, such as Liana Souvaltsis and
implied that the great military leader was burried here, but no real
evidence has come from this. The King of Persia lead a 50,000 man army
to the area to distroy the oracle, but the entire army was lost in the
desert.

The area has a nice climate, chilly in winter, hot in the summer and
moderate in the spring and autumn. Lake Siwa to the west of the town of
is a large, saltwater lake.

The area is famous for its dates and olives, and is one of the most
beautiful landscapes in Egpt. Olives oil is still made in the area by
crushing the olives from the 70,000 olive trees in the area with stones.
The dates are gathered by zaggala (stick bearers), who must remain
celibate until the age of forty, and the area boasts some 300,000 date
trees. It is located on the old date caravan route, yet until recently,
it received few other visitors and retained much of its heritage. In
fact, until the battles which took place around the oasis in World War
II, it was hardly governed by Egypt, and remained mostly a Berber (Zenatiya)
community for the prior thirteen centuries. Siwans continue to have
their own culture and customs and they speak a Berber language, called
Siwi, rather than Arabic. Interestingly, each October there is a
three-day festival during which Siwans must settle all of their past
year's disputes.

The area is also famous for its springs, of which there are
approximately 1,000. The water is sweet, and is said to have medical
properties.

Though relaxing and certainly now a part of the tourist community in
Egypt, it is very traditional, and visitors should keep this in mind
when traveling to the area. Girls of the area are often married by the
age of 14, and afterward where completely covering clothing, and allowed
little communications with the world outside their immediate family.
Many women still wear traditional costumes and silver jewelry like those
displayed in The Traditional Siwan House museum in the town center. In
fact, the area is also well known for its crafts, particularly woven
cloth, which is unique in Egypt.

Siwa History

Siwa like the other Western Oasis, has had a number of different names
over the millenniums. It was called Santariya by the ancient Arabs, as
well as the Oasis of Jupiter-Amun, Marmaricus Hammon, the Field of Palm
Trees and Santar by the ancient Egyptians..

We believe it was occupied as early as Paleolithic and Neolithic times,
and some believe it was the capital of an ancient kingdom that may have
included Qara, Arashieh and Bahrein. During Egypt's Old Kingdom, it was
a part of Tehenu, the Olive Land that may have extended as for east as
Mareotis.

In many respects, the Siwa Oasis has little in common with the other
Western Oasis. The Siwan people are mostly Berbers, the true Western
Desert indigenous people, who once roamed the North African coast
between Tunisia and Morocco. They inhabited the area as early as 10,000
BC, first moving towards the coast, but later inland as other conquering
invaders arrived. Hence, Siwa is more North African sometimes then
Egyptian and their language, traditions, rites, dress, decorations and
tools differ from those of the other Western Oasis.

In fact, there is almost nothing known of the Siwa Oasis during Egypt's
ancient history. There have been no monuments discovered dating from the
Old, Middle or New Kingdoms. It may have been colonized during the reign
of Ramesses III, but evidence only exists beginning with the 26th
Dynasty that it was part of the Egyptian empire. It was then that the
Gebel el-Mawta Necropolis was established, which was in use through the
Roman Period. In fact, some sources maintain that it remained an
independed Sheikhdom ruled by a Libyan tribal chief until Roman times.
The two temples that we know of, both dedicated to Amun, were
established by Ahmose II and Nectanebo II.

Yet just exactly how integrated it was in the Egyptian realm is
questionable. One of the most notable and interesting stories in
Egyptian history involves Cambyses II, who apparently had problems with
the Oasis. He sent an army to the Oasis in order to seize control, but
the entire caravan was lost to the desert, never arriving at Siwa. To
this day, the event remains a mystery, though tantalizing clues seem to
be popping up.

It was the Greeks who made the Siwa Oasis notable. After having
established themselves in Cyrene (in modern Libya) they discovered and
popularized the Oracle of Amun located in the Siwa Oasis, and at least
one of the greatest stories told of the Oasis concerns the visit by
Alexander the Great to the Oracle.

Almost immediately after taking Egypt from the Persians and establishing
Alexandria, Alexander the Great headed for the Siwa Oasis to consult the
now famous Oracle of Amun. This trip, made with a few comrades, is well
documented. He was not the first to experience problems in the desert,
as whole armies before him had been lost in the sand. The caravan got
lost, ran out of water and was even caught up in an unusual rainstorm.
However, upon arrival at the Oasis and the Oracle of Amun, Alexander was
pronounced a god, an endorsement required for legitimate rule of the
country.

Cleopatra VII may have also visited this Oasis to consult with the
Oracle, as well as perhaps bath in the spring that now bears her name.
However, by the Roman period

Augustus sent political prisoners to the Siwa so it too, like the other
desert oasis, became a place of banishment.

Christianity would have had a difficult time establishing itself in this
Oasis, and most sources agree that it did not. However, Bayle St. John
says that in fact the Temple of the Oracle was actually turned into the
Church of the Virgin Mary. This is understandable given that along with
political prisoners, the Romans banished church leaders to the Western
Oasis, including, Athanasius tells us, to Siwa. In fact, we find that
during the Byzantine era it probably belonged to the dioceses of the
Libyan eparchy. However, no real record, or for that matter,
archaeological evidence exists to support Christianity in the Oasis.

By 708 AD, Islam came to the Oasis. Though earlier than some of the
other Western Oasis, it had little success at first. The Siwans may have
been Christian at this point, but regardless, they withdrew to their
fortress and fought valiantly against the invading forces of Musa Ibn
Nusayr, finally repelling his army. Next came Tariq Ibn Ziyad of Spain,
but his army was also defeated. Though some sources disagree, it was
probably not until 1150 AD that Islam finally took hold in the Siwa
Oasis.

However, by 1203 we are told that the population of the Siwa Oasis had
declined to as low as 40 men from seven families due to constant attacks
and particularly after a rather viscous Bedouin assault. In order to
found a more secure settlement, they moved from the ancient town of
Aghurmi and established the present city called Shali, which simply
means town. This new fortified town was built with only three gates. An
Islamic historian, Maqrizi, explains that soon after there were 600
people living in the Oasis. At this point the Siwa may have been an
independent republic. He goes on to say that it was populated by strange
and fearsome animals and that the people were plagued by unusual
diseases. However, he also says of the Siwa that its fertility was
legendary, citing an "orange-tree as large as an Egyptian sycamore,
producing fourteen thousand oranges every year". The Siwa exported crops
to Egypt and Cyrene.

One of the main historical references we have on the Siwa Oasis is
called the "Siwan Manuscript" which was written during the middle ages
and serves as a local history book. It tells us of a benevolent man who
arrived in the Oasis and planted an orchard. Afterward, he went to Mecca
and brought back thirsty Arabs and Berbers to live in the Oasis, where
he established himself, along with his followers in the western part of
Shali.